370 HOME LIFE IN FLOKIDA. 



the real culprits, and if we had only suspected the truth 

 sooner the loss of many a valuable garment could have 

 been prevented. 



Henceforth we fought the roaches more vigorously than 

 ever, and kept a sharj)er watch on all our clothing not in 

 daily use. 



We would not, however, lead our readers to infer that 

 the roaches of Florida are much if any more numerous 

 than in the majority of country places; we have seen them, 

 smaller in size, to be sure, but greater in numbers, in sea- 

 side hotels and other summer resorts, and sometimes even 

 in farm-houses at the North. 



The peculiar features in Florida are their size, their 

 wings, pungent odor, and their fondness for clothing and 

 books. 



"Books?" Yes, even books, when placed on shelves, 

 or in book-cases, and not frequently disturbed, will soon 

 look as if they had the smallpox. The substance used by 

 the binders in glazing the covers finds particular favor with 

 the roach family, and they eat it off in spots here and there. 



Stout paper covers should be put on all books that are 

 placed on shelves, if a fresh, neat cover is desired ; hand- 

 somely bound books for the parlor may, however, be put 

 out on tables without fear; we have never seen one, left 

 out in this way, that was touched by roaches, they prefer 

 shelter to work in. 



It was a long time before we discovered how to outwit 

 the roaches and ants who foraged at will among our jellies 

 and marmalades. 



No matter how securely we deemed them pasted or tied 

 up in strong paper covers, they ate through it. Then we 

 tried pasting strong muslin over the tops of the jelly glasses 

 in addition to the paper; result just the same. Next, we 

 soaked the paper in alum-water. That checked the indus- 



